Hon Hai mulls building panel, TV plant in Arizona

Taiwan-headquartered Hon Hai Precision Industry, the major maker of Apple Inc products, said on Saturday it was considering building a plant in Arizona to make large panels and large-panel TVs to tap the massive US market.

The world's largest electronics assembler, Hon Hai is considering the plan as it aims to integrate its current operations in North America. Among them are TV and modules manufacturing facilities in Mexico with 12,000 workers.

"Arizona has offered us very good commercial conditions," Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou said following a meeting with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. "The US market is huge."

The move comes as Brewer said earlier this month that Apple will open a manufacturing facility in the US, as part of a push to boost US jobs.

But Gou denied it had anything to do with Apple's investment plan. "These are two separate things," he said. "I only learned about it after reading newspapers."

Once the plan was finalized, Hon Hai would begin the investment "as soon as possible," Gou said, without elaborating on the size or timetable.

Hon Hai would set up two US headquarters, one in Arizona and the other in Boston, he added. Hon Hai is diversifying from its lower-margin contract manufacturing business and trying to move up the value chain.

It said recently it would turn new software development centers in southern Taiwan into a data and cloud power base to focus on content creation, after winning local 4G licenses.